Dividend income report for May 2020 – Chronicling my monthly dividend income to document the journey to financial independence.
Dividend Income Report May 2020 Highlights
- $41.62 was received in May 2020 (Up 50.58% compared to May 2019)
- $228.51 has been earned YTD (January to May 2020).
- Dividend income was affected by Coronavirus, as SRV.UN suspended its dividend.
- Income from investments was boosted by a cash in lieu payment of $7.29 from ACB.TO.
- This is the 36th dividend income report.
As you may know, this blog is about building income streams through blogging and investing.
On the investing side, my primary income source is dividends from high quality stocks.
To document the journey and show how it’s possible to earn dividend income, I publish monthly dividend income updates to document how much money I earn from dividend investing.
Ultimately, I want others to know how easy it is to build their own cash flow machine through dividend investing.
Let’s dive into my dividend income report.
Dividend Income Report for May 2020: $41.62
Total dividend income received in May 2020 was $41.62.
This represents a 50.58% YoY increase compared to May 2019, and a 174% increase over May 2018.
However, this month’s dividend income report did include a one-time cash in lieu payment of $7.29 from ACB.TO. I know it’s not a dividend payment but I included it in the report anyways. But even if the one-time payment is subtracted from the total, a total of $34.33 was received in May 2020, which is still a YoY increase of 24%.
So even in the Corona environment, dividend income is still increasing.
Overall, $228.51 worth of dividend income has been received from January to May 2020. This is slightly ahead of last year at the same point, whereas $223.27 had been earned. Despite Coronavirus and SRV.UN cutting its dividend, total dividend income is ahead by $5.24 or 2.35%.
How I Earned $41.62 from Dividend Investing
To earn $41.62 in May 2020, I own 7 different stocks. I bought most of the positions between 2017 to 2019. Now I just hold the stocks in my brokerage account and collect dividends.
To increase dividend income, I buy more shares of existing positions, or I buy new stocks that meet my investment criteria. If you’re looking for high quality stocks to buy now, check out this post: Stocks to buy now: 4 dividend stocks for the Corona Crisis. Alternatively, if you are looking to quickly boost your dividend income stream, check out this post: High Dividend Stocks that pay over 4.5%.
Here are the 7 stocks that paid in May 2020:
(Ticker: $RY) Royal Bank of Canada: $22.68
The bulk of my dividend income came from Royal Bank in May 2020. In total, I have 21 shares that each pay $1.08 per share on a quarterly basis. Typically, Royal Bank raises its dividend twice per year too.
Ultimately, Royal Bank is one of my favourite dividend stocks, which is why I included it in my stocks to buy now recommendation post.
I view RY as a core position. Full disclosure, I even worked for Royal Bank between 2012 to 2016. It was a great company to work for and I used to benefit from their stock sharing plan.
Since I view RY as a core position, I plan to build this position up to between $5,000 to $10,000. At the very least, I want to acquire more shares than I formerly had when I worked there, which was around 33 shares.
(Ticker: $ACB) Aurora Cannabis Cash in Lieu payment: $7.29
To tell you the truth, a cash in lieu payment is not a dividend payment.
But I included it in this report because, technically, it is still income that was added to my portfolio.
To briefly comment on this position, I need to add ACB to my worst investments of all time post.
I speculated with approximately $500 on ACB at a time the shares were extremely overvalued. I knew it was a gamble and fortunately I kept my speculation money for cannabis stocks to less than 5% of my portfolio.
Related post: Investing in the Cannabis Industry – 4 Tips to Protect Wealth
(Ticker: $REI.UN) 40 Units of Riocan REIT: $4.80
Riocan REIT continued to pay its monthly dividend despite the ongoing lockdown.
So even though the stock price has been obliterated, I am continuing to hold this REIT.
With a small investment of $1,000, Riocan has been paying me $4.80 per month for years.
It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds commercial and residential real estate to my portfolio, and it is a monthly payment.
Because of Riocan’s quality real estate and management, and based on their strategy to diversify into residential real estate, I will continue to hold this REIT.
(Ticker: $T) AT&T : $4.16 USD
On the USD side, I received $4.16 from AT&T, which is a stock I recently published a write-up about: AT&T Still a Buy After Earnings and CEO Retirement?
Although my position is small, I still received $4.16 in USD, which is approximately $5.73 CAD.
I do plan on buying more shares of $T to increase dividend income, but I will be cautious because of the company’s debt and slower growth.
The yield is nice at 6.74%. However, I still prefer a business with more growth potential and more room to raise their dividend, such as Apple.
For the record, I hold this position in a RRSP for tax purposes. I hold my CAD positions in my TFSA because USD dividends are not taxed there. But if you hold USD positions in a TFSA, there will still be a withholding tax on dividends.
(Ticker: $MO) Altria Group: $1.68
Technically, I received this payment on April 30, 2020, so it should have been included in last month’s report.
But the payment didn’t show up on time, so it will be reported for May 2020.
Anyways, I received $1.68 USD or $2.31 CAD from owning a few shares of $MO.
In case you didn’t know, Altria Group is a global cigarette company that also has stakes in other industries: Cannabis through Cronos Group, Vaping through Jul, and they also have a stake in the wine industry.
On top of their diversification, they currently offer an 8.6% yield. Before Coronavirus I would have been buying more shares. However, the high yield and dividend payout ratio makes me cautious. So I am holding off buying for now to aim at companies like $AAPL or $SBUX instead.
(Ticker: $AAPL) Apple Inc: $0.82 USD
I earned $0.82 USD or $1.13 CAD in May 2020 from owning 1 share of $AAPL.
In my opinion, Apple is the next great dividend growth stock story.
Now, I know what you’re thinking—why does he rave about Apple but only own 1 share?
Well for starters, I’ve admitted that selling Apple was one of my worst investment mistakes of all time. I’ve profited from buying it and selling it many times. But I never should have sold.
My plan is to add to the position over time. I plan for it to be a core position.
Even though the yield is low, they have a low dividend payout ratio and boatloads of cash. This is a company with growth, a strong brand, and years of dividend raises to come. This is ultimately why I believe it to be the next great dividend growth stock story
(CHP.UN) 2 Units of Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust: $0.19
Back when I was working full-time, I received a salary, so my income was more predictable.
Because of the predictability, I would pay myself first then dollar cost average into dividend stocks every single pay day.
Sometimes, when I didn’t have a lot of extra cash to invest, I reinvested small amounts into lower priced stocks to increase dividend income. This is why I own such a small number of CHP.UN units. I planned to buy more but then I started working part-time.
Now that I work part-time, my stock buying has become more scarce. Now I buy stocks after my dividend income and savings build up for a while.
So in hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have owned such a small number of units. But I still plan to build up the position to $1,000 worth.
Choice Properties offers commercial real estate for Loblaws and other President’s Choice grocery store chains. As we all know, grocery stores are essential in any environment.
Total from all 7 stocks: $41.62
Dividend Income report for May 2020 (key stats)
Dividend income earned in May 2020: $41.62
Total 2020 Year to date dividend income: $228.51
Dividend income in May 2019: $27.64
Dividend income in May 2018: $15.19
May 2020 YoY earnings increased by 50.58% compared to May 2019
Monthly Average Dividend income in 2020: $45.70
How many stocks paid dividends in May 2020: 7 (Up 2 since May 2019)
$399.76 to reach my goal of $628.27 in 2020
At the beginning of each year, I set financial goals to save money, pay down debt, and grow the dividend business.
For 2020, I set the goal to earn at least $628.27 in dividend income. This target was based on how much income I expected to earn from my part-time job, and based on the $561.77 I received in 2019.
With 7 more months of dividend income updates to go, I have earned a total of $228.51.
Therefore, to meet the halfway mark by the end of June 2020, I need to hit at least $314 in dividend income. In other words, I must earn at least $85.60 in June 2020 to stay on track.
Overall, I still expect to meet my target of at least $628.27 from dividend income this year.
Dividend Income Report May 2020 – Final Thoughts
This month’s dividend income report is in the books.
I earned $41.62 from dividend stocks in May 2020. In total, I have earned $228.51 from dividend investing so far in 2020.
Dividend income, along with income from blogging, make it possible to afford working part-time job while still getting ahead financially.
Moreover, a combination of income streams (dividend income | blog income | part-time work) and low expenses have made it possible to have more time, pursue fulfilling work, and live a more flexible lifestyle altogether.
To simplify it even further:
Multiple income streams + low expenses = more time, fulfilling work, and a more flexible lifestyle.
If you are interested in building your own income stream through dividend investing, check out my affiliate, Questrade. If you open a brokerage account with Questrade using my link here, you will receive $50 in free trades.
Otherwise, if you already have a brokerage account, let me know how much dividend income you received in the comments. Or, let me know if we share any of the same stocks?
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post may contain advertisements by Monumetric and Google Adsense. This post may also contains internal links, affiliate links to BizBudding, Amazon, Bluehost, and Questrade, links to trusted external sites, and links to RTC social media accounts.
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